Player Review 2016: Lavoy Allen

Age: 27Years pro: 5Status: Has two years remaining on his contract, with the second year a team option.Key stats: Averaged 5.3 points and 5.4 rebounds in the regular season, but 1 point and 2.3 rebounds in the playoffs. Started 28 games in the regular season and three in the playoffs.

Lavoy Allen was the plus-minus king for the Pacers this past season. It wasn't always evident what exactly he was doing to contribute, but he apparently was contributing something given the stats – in the regular season, anyway.

Plus-minus rankings should always be taken with a hint of skepticism, but over the long run they tend to mean something. If a team usually outscores the opponent when a particular player is in the game over the course of several games, it's probably a good indication that he's playing well. Allen's positive contributions made Frank Vogel's decision to start Myles Turner in his place less obvious than it might have seemed, and made Vogel's decision to return Allen to the starting lineup in place of Turner late in the season fairly obvious.

At the time Turner was first placed in the starting lineup, against Atlanta on Jan. 28, Allen had started 21 of the first 45 games and averaged 5.5 points on 49 percent shooting and 5.4 rebounds. He had the team's best plus-minus rating, +173, meaning the Pacers had outscored opponents by 173 points during the minutes he played. Paul George was second at +147.

Vogel at the time considered Allen a "glue guy" in the mold of Dennis Rodman, Dale Davis or Jeff Foster, one who performed the less glamorous duties of basketball.

"When you have as many scorers as we have, it's good to have a big guy who doesn't need shots," Vogel said then. "He goes and gets it and gets it in the hands of the guys who know what to do with it."

Allen returned to the starting lineup for the final seven games, following a 20-point homecourt loss to Orlando on March 31. Turner's play had dropped off and two straight homecourt defeats threatened the team's playoff status, so Vogel made the change. With the breeze of an easy schedule at their back, the Pacers won six of their final seven games. Allen played just 18 minutes per game, but averaged 6.1 points on 56 percent shooting and had a plus-minus rating of +5.1 per game. Pretty heady stuff, really, even considering the level of competition.

"Dirty work," Vogel said of Allen's role. "Hit people, screen, create extra possessions by rebounding the ball, be a reliable finisher, be versatile."

It didn't work out in the playoffs, though. Allen started the first three games of the series with Toronto but was largely ineffective. Once the Pacers fell behind 2-1, Vogel went back to Turner, who finished the series in the starting lineup.

Allen is difficult to figure sometimes. For a rugged, dirty work player, he's probably the least intense guy on the team away from games, one who doesn't take much seriously. On the other hand, he never complained about his role or playing time, and was congenial with teammates and the media.

He'll likely play off the bench next season, the last for which his contract is guaranteed. He'll accept that, and has a proven ability to contribute. He's already contributed plenty, in fact, for a guy who was considered a throw-in to the trade that sent Danny Granger to Philadelphia for Evan Turner in 2014. Over the long run, you might say, the pluses have outweighed the minuses.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.